Life in Uganda

“How do you find Uganda?”

This is question I hear almost daily, most often by people I have just met. How does one respond to such a question? There is so much I could say!

I have lived with my family a week today (or, when I wrote this on Saturday…).  I didn’t have any time to think before hand to have any expectations, or to prepare myself for what was to come. I can’t really say for sure that it would have helped, though. I do know that when I was dropped off at my home, I was unsure of everything. I felt so naïve to the way of life here; I had to ask how to do everything, especially the basics that I gave no thought to. For example, I didn’t brush my teeth for the first day and a half,  solely because I was unsure of where to do so! (It gave me great comfort to speak with other students in home-stays to find out I wasn’t the only one!) As each day has come and gone, I have learned and understood more and more. It is incredible what just 7 days can do!

Like I said above, it is very hard to describe how I find Africa, or, Uganda. There are so many things I could say; I have already written 30 pages in my journal alone! So I will try and stick with some basics, first, to try and help you understand my life here.

I have my own room and I bathe with a bucket shower every night; what an experience that has been! After my first night, I wrote in my journal “no promises on me ever being clean for the next four months, or smelling decent!”However, I can proudly say that I am actually clean every night. ;) It’s the things like bucket showers that made me feel like a complete idiot the first few times. It’s hard to describe exactly what was going through my mind the first (and second) time(s), but I can tell you that I was filled with utter confusion and ignorance. I didn’t know if the goal was to keep the water in the basin, or not to—which is kind of a big difference. There is also no running water here at home. And then there are the bathrooms or, toilets… well, they aren’t toilets at all, but squatty potties. And ours is outside (aka not attached to the house; don’t worry, it’s enclosed).  The toilets on campus are squatties also. And there is generally no toilet paper, so you have to bring your own. I thought I would take forever to adjust to using a squatty, but I am getting used to them already!  That’s without saying that yesterday we visited a place with actual toilets, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to see one in my life! *Edit since writing: Someone just discovered there are actual toilets (with seats!), with toilet paper, and soap, and hand dryers in the library bathrooms… I think I just found my favorite place on campus!

I live with a family of four; a mother (mama Hariet), a sister (Lillian, 18 years old), and two brothers (Jonathan  and Joshua, 19 and 20 years old). I have another sister, Jennifer ( who is late twenties??) but she doesn’t live here (she comes daily though). And lastly, I have a cousin, David, who is in his 20’s as well and comes every evening. I love them! It’s crazy how in just a weeks’ time, I’m already dreading the day I will have to say goodbye to my new family. They are absolutely wonderful, and wonderful to me!

Every night, my family comes together around 8:30 for an hour to watch “Mara Clara,” an Asian soap opera in English dubbed in Luganda. Yep. You read that right. It’s hilarious! So I have taken to watching with them since it is a family affair. This is usually when Jennifer and David come around, too. We normally eat dinner while watching Mara Clara. Apparently this is a famous thing to watch, because many of the other IMME students (in homestays) watch with their families as well; we often discuss the previous night’s episode together. It’s fantastic. haha

I walk to school every day, and was blessed beyond measure to be one of the closest to campus. It takes me about 12 minutes to walk from my home to class, but just about 4 minutes to get to campus. Many students have a 30-40 minute walk, one way, every day! There are three different ways to get to campus, and my favorite when I have time and on my way home is to walk through the village. There are always kids at a certain house that yell “Muzungu!” and wave to me. Somedays, I will come across kids that I have never met that will run up and hug me. I love it! A few days ago I met someone who worked at my school in the dining hall, and we walked to campus together.

I am already learning and processing many things, but I know there is much more of that to come. I won’t start sharing these things yet, but just keep this first post basic for you to be able to understand a little bit of my life here.